The Siena Heights University men's basketball team held off a furious Concordia rally to post an 89-87 win Saturday. Ryan Hopson hit a turnaround jump shot with 3.7 seconds on the clock to break a tie and give the Saints their second win of the season, both in the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference.

Hopson led a balanced scoring attack with 18 points, as four Saints were in double figures. Latwan Wesley and Cecil Clark each had 14, and Jamison Webster (Madison High School) added 10 with four assists.

Siena (2-4, 2-0 WHAC) needed the balance to offset the performance of Concordia senior guard Chatavius Turner, who had 42 points, 31 in the second half. Siena led 76-62 with about six minutes to play when Turner took over and led his team back to tie the game when John Schaeffer hit a 3-point shot with 23.8 seconds left. Schaeffer finished with 18 points.

Siena coach Joe Pechota said the team is getting better, but has to do a better job of protecting the ball. For most of the game, the defense was strong, he said.

"Our scoring balance was good, and I thought we showed a great deal of mental toughness," Pechota said. "I told our team we are probably not going to be pretty, but it's a 12-round fight. Tonight, we landed more punches and body shots. We just have to finish better."

Clark and Donovan Campbell sparked the Saints off the bench in the first half. Clark had six points and Campbell added five in the first half.

Thanks to some poor free throw shooting by the Cardinals, the Saints led 39-36 at halftime. Concordia (2-5, 1-1) hit just 5 of 19 free throws in the first half.

Siena came out on fire to start the second half and scored the first 10 points to vault out to a 49-36 lead before Concordia scored. Siena led much of the second half in double figures, but Turner heated up and the Saints had to hang on at the end.

The second half was filled with fouls, as the Cardinals had 38 chances from the charity stripe, hitting 18 and the Saints were 18 of 29. Each team had two players foul out and each had a technical foul — Concordia's bench picked up a technical and Siena got one for a flagrant foul.

"Two things we have got to do better are turnovers and how (Concordia) pursued to the ball," Pechota said. "We have got to get the mentality that that ball is ours and then go get it."

The Saints have three upcoming road games, two against NAIA Division II ranked teams from the league. Wednesday Siena plays at 20th-ranked Cornerstone and on Dec. 5 at No. 11 Davenport. In between, the Saints play at Northwestern Ohio, Dec. 1.

Their next home game is Saturday, Dec. 8 with No. 25-ranked Indiana Tech. Tip-off at the Fieldhouse is 7:30 p.m.